78 



area in which sleeping sickness is known to exist. It is stated that 

 the opening of certain areas to free shooting has had the effect of 

 driving game from these areas into inhabited country and that the 

 hunters have neglected other game to some extent in order to secure 

 elephants. The need for further tsetse-fly investigations is urged. 



CouTA^T (A. F.). The Habits, Life-History, and Structure of a Blood- 

 sucking Muscid Larva {ProtocalUphora azurea). — Separate from 

 Jl. of Parasitology, JJrhana, III., i, March 1915, pp. 135-150, 

 7 figs. [Received 17th March 1916.] 



The larva of the Muscid, Phormia {ProtocalUphora) azurea, is normally 

 a blood-sucking parasite of nestling birds, causing fatal results in some 

 cases. Specimens were found by the author in June 1914 on crows 

 about five weeks old ; others were found in the nest, and therefore 

 were probably intermittent feeders. Attempts made to rear the 

 larvae on fresh and putrifying meat, failed. Previous observations 

 by Kirsch, Brauer, and others, have shown that these larvae may bore 

 into living tissues. The larvae preferred rather dry places to moist 

 ones, and do not appear to be adapted to living in decomposing or 

 faecal matter. One of the crows examined contained malarial 

 parasites in the blood, but the larvae are not thought to have played 

 a part in the transmission of these. The length of life of the larva is 

 probably between 14 and 20 days. Pupae kept in breeding cages 

 transformed into adults in 10 days. Adults fed readily on milk and 

 biscuits and were not attracted to meat, as is the case with other 

 blow-flies. P. azurea has been recorded from France, Britain, Italy, 

 Germany and New England, in each case in very small numbers, and 

 seems to occur chiefly among birds which build in protected positions, 

 such as stables, etc. A description of the different stages is given. 



Paeker (R. R.), New Evidence concerning the Dispersal of the House- 



F\y. -—Bull. Dept. Public Health, Helena, Montana, ix, nos. 7 & 8, 

 November-15th December 1915, pp. 3-7. [Received 30th 

 March 1916.] 



During 1915 investigations into the dispersal of house-flies under 

 city conditions were carried out. A total of 387,877 marked flies were 

 released during a period of 35 days from four stations at various 

 positions in the city. The flies were recaptured in varying numbers 

 at different places, the most distant being about IJ miles from any 

 point of release. It was concluded that movements were mainly 

 dependent on stimuli such as odours from feeding and breeding places. 



The results suggest that the following points are of practical signi- 

 ficance under city conditions in Montana : — (1) flies from a given 

 breeding place may spread over an area within a city of at least five 

 square miles ; (2) flies do not remain close to breeding grounds, but 

 often show considerable migration ; (3) conditions within a city which 

 are favourable to breeding are important to the residents and also to 

 those living close to the city ; (4) the importance of co-operation in 

 control work is strongly emphasised. 



